With the month of March approaching, every game grows increasingly critical for teams dreaming of either a number one seed or invitations to college basketball’s most prestigious ball. At the top of the national rankings, several national powerhouses are struggling to emerge from the fiery pits of conference play while squads from the mid-major conferences desperately seek to build an impressive resume to submit to the NCAA Selection Committee.
A quick rundown of the conferences reveals where the likely NCAA champion will come from, and that is without a doubt, the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC is unquestionably the favorite to grace the NCAA with its new champion. The Big East, even though it will most likely be the first conference to ever get seven teams into the tournament, lacks the championship caliber team the ACC provides.
The ACC will most likely garner two number one seeds as North Carolina has emerged as the team to beat. The Tar Heels have moved up the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll resting comfortably in the second spot, behind the still undefeated and top-ranked Illinois. Wake Forest will most likely grab the league’s second number one seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Wake, ranked sixth nationally, has suffered losses to Illinois, Duke, Georgia Tech, and Florida State, and only the Florida State loss is unmerited. The Demon Deacons, just a game back of UNC in the ACC standings, have also knocked off six ranked opponents including North Carolina and Duke.
The tournament’s other number one seeds will go to obvious choices: undefeated Illinois, who will most likely run the table in the weak Big Ten to finish the season perfect; and the third-ranked Boston College Golden Eagles, who lost their first game of the season earlier this month to Notre Dame. Boston College is truly the only championship contender out of a very deep Big East conference. However, UConn, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh have proved too prone to upsets to warrant an endorsement as a title candidate.
Of the rest of the country’s conferences only the Big 12 warrants any mention, with Oklahoma State, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech all being ranked in the nation’s top 25. Despite being ranked fourth in the nation, the Cowboys have yet to regain their Final Four form from a year ago, losing several questionable games in conference, while the seventh ranked Jayhawks have dropped three straight.
The Pac-10 lack of a championship contender has become an alarming trend over the last several years. Only Arizona and Washington are locks to make the NCAA Tourney, and Arizona State is certainly a stretch for an at-large bid.
The SEC is also shockingly weak compared to past seasons. Only the fifth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats deserve any national attention, but with their loss to virtually unknown South Carolina they may not only be overrated, but ripe for the picking come tournament time.
Of the mid-major leagues, Conference USA and the West Coast Conference have proven to be solid. Louisville, Cincinnati, and UNC-Charlotte are all rightfully in the top 25 and have the potential to make the Sweet 16, should their jump shots fall come March. The biggest shock is again Gonzaga and their conference foe Pacific, both of which are ranked in the top 25. The Bulldogs are no longer a surprise to those close to college basketball, but Pacific’s surfacing has left many experts bewildered. The WCC may have as many teams in this year’s ball as the Pac-10, an alarming thought for the west coast’s premier conference.
Overall, there is still much to be decided between now and March 13, when the NCAA Selection Committee will announce who has earned passes to spring’s biggest party. Only 65 will get in and there are only 34 at-large bids to go around: teams in the SEC, Big East, Big 12, and Pac-10 have to start winning now to secure one of those desired coveted spots.
